Co-founded the company 30 years ago when he was 15 years old.
Successfully programmed and commercialized best-selling software such as Typing Pal & Budget Express. Extensive managerial experience through entire product cycles, industry shifts, company turnarounds.
Involved in many industry committees which are shaping the future of publishing.
Received multiple business awards in Canada, France, and Italy.
Holds degrees from McGill and Laval University
«On a mission to make education more accessible to all, whilst helping publishers recuperate revenue lost from piracy and second-hand book sales»
Nathan Hull is CSO at Beat Technology powering audiobook and ebook services for the publishing industry. Beat is the pulse within market leaders Skoobe (DE), Fabel (NO), Fluister (NL), Audiotribe (RO), Volume (PL), Adlibris (SE & FI) and Jukebooks (GR). Prior to Beat, Nathan launched the curated Dutch service Bookchoice in 9 markets and was Chief Business Development Officer at Denmark’s Mofibo launching in two further markets prior to its purchase by Storytel. Notably Nathan was also Penguin Random House’s Digital Product Director, with strategic responsibility for its award-winning digital portfolio and innovation strategy working closely with the likes of Stephen Fry, Jamie Oliver, Jeff Kinney, and Roald Dahl’s estate.
The challenges of the future are huge. Understanding these changes, accepting them, learning from them together, developing a new best version for people in the book industry – this is an exciting task. Once again, it underlines the value of lifelong learning
Monika Kolb has been managing director of the mediacampus frankfurt since 2007 and is also responsible for educational work in the German Booksellers and Publishers Association (“Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels”).
mediacampus frankfurt is the most important education and training company in the German book industry. The service portfolio aims towards specialists and executives in the book trade as well as book and magazine publishers. The wide range of educational programs and seminars reaches from training and study courses (for newcomers and young professionals) to seminars and further training events for managers and specialist staff (further training). A huge number of inhouse programs is also carried out at member companies, which makes mediacampus frankfurt a central place for cross-divisional integration – book trade, wholsale, book and magazine publishers – for the entire book industry.
mediacampus frankfurt is a highly frequented meeting place for authors of all literary genres and a discussion and event location for many politicians, for example local politicians or the respective ministers of state for culture. In her role as educational Director of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, Monika Kolb is responsible for vocational training topics such as the amendment of job descriptions, accreditation of degree programs and the linking of different educational institutions such as universities, vocational schools and independent training providers with the involvement of publishers and booksellers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In order to do something against the shortage of for specialists and managerial staff, the vocational training department of the German Booksellers and Publishers Association implements numerous initiatives such as a youth parliament, events at trade fairs and mentoring programs.
Monika Kolb, born in 1966, holds a degree in business administration, is a trained and experienced mediator and a systemic organizational developer. She also advises and supports national and international organizations and associations on strategic issues and accompanies specialists as well as executives through personal coaching.
Reading is the beginning of everything. In order to enlarge our reader society, book and reading public policies also must focus on the strengthening and sustainability of the book industry
Managing Director of Books and Reading Promotion in the Spanish Government is in charge of promoting literary creation and translation, supporting the publishing industry and promoting reading, specially through public libraries. Previously she was Editor-in-chief for Tirant lo Blanch publishers, and previously worked in the Spanish Parliament and national government. Gálvez is Associate Professor at Carlos III University of Madrid, she holds a PHD in Constitutional Law.
After training as a publishing bookseller at Piper Verlag in Munich, Christian Schumacher-Gebler got a degree in business administration at the University of Regensburg in 2001.
After his studies, he started his professional life as assistant to the managing director of the German Bonnier Group.
From 2004 to 2012, Christian Schumacher-Gebler was Managing Director at Ullstein Buchverlage in Berlin.
Since 2013, Christian Schumacher-Gebler has been working for the German Bonnier Group as CEO in Munich to champion the interests and growth potential of the group.
In an honorary capacity, he is involved with the FEP and is active on the board of the Committee for Publishers in the German Publishers & Booksellers Association.
It’d better be sustainable and inclusive!
Dr. Michiel Kolman is Senior VP and Academic Ambassador at Elsevier and former President of the International Publishers Association (IPA) where he now chairs Inclusive Publishing and Literacy. Michiel also serves on the Federation of European Publishers (FEP) board.
During his tenure as president the IPA launched the SDG Book Club together with the UN and supported by key players across the book industry. More recently he was instrumental in launching the SDG Publishers Compact, another IPA – UN collaboration.
Since joining Elsevier in 1995, he has held various core publishing roles in Amsterdam and Tokyo. He launched one of the first online journals in the industry in 1996: New Astronomy. Michiel was Managing Director in Frankfurt, Germany. For 10 years, he spearheaded academic relations for Elsevier, building up a global network of ambassadors engaged in strategic discussions with research leaders. Today he continues to engage with research and government leaders in his role as Academic Ambassador for Elsevier.
Prior to Elsevier, he worked for Wolters Kluwer in a division that is now part of Springer Nature. He holds a degree from Leiden University in the Netherlands and a PhD in astrophysics from Columbia University in New York, where he studied with a Fulbright scholarship.
Michiel is co-chair of Workplace Pride supporting LGBTIQ+ workplace inclusion internationally. He is the executive sponsor of Elsevier Pride and was listed two years in a row in the Financial Times’ Top 100 ranking of most influential LGBT senior executives. He supports inclusive publishing, e.g. through the Accessible Books Consortium at WIPO where he served several years as vice-chair.
Writing means sharing. It’s part of the human condition to want to share things – thoughts, ideas, opinions.
Tom Morris is a Senior Trends Analyst at GWI, a market research company running the world’s largest ongoing survey on the digital consumer. He analyses this rich dataset, alongside other material, to uncover the latest trends and insights in media and beyond.
Specialising in gaming, he regularly speaks to journalists and publications around the world about how the landscape is ever-changing – particularly after the pandemic.
Prior to joining GWI, Tom was an MA student studying English language and literature. During this time he wrote his thesis on the representation of fatherhood in US animated television, working alongside a team of PHD students to further investigate the portrayal of gender and masculinity in media.
Datos, datos, datos… y relatos
Alicia is Librarian. She developed her professional career in the private sector as an independent consultant with more than 20 years of experience in the information and library sector, more focused on the research, design, strategy but also on the implementation of technology.
She combines these tasks with teaching specialized courses, degrees and masters related to information management and libraries, tutoring projects and academic work (UOC) and activity in University research groups (UMU). He participated in the IFLA IAP program and worked in the advocacy initiatives for libraries as agents of development. From that experience she coordinates the «Libraries and 2030 Agenda» at the Library Cooperation Committee (Ministry of Culture) and is member of the Council for Sustainable Development of Spain. She is a member of the Royal Board of the National Library of Spain.
In the field of professional associations, she is president of FESABID (Spanish Federation of Archival, Library, Documentation and Museum Societies), has been president of the Official College of Librarians of Valencia region and a member of the executive committee of EBLIDA (European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations). She is currently a member of the European Division of IFLA
